Libya still has about 11.5 metric tons -- or more than 25,000 pounds -- of mustard gas stockpiled in the country

Reuters

After Muammar el-Qaddafi falls, a key challenge for Washington and
its allies will be working with the rebels to secure Libya's arms depots
to prevent smuggling and proliferation throughout the region--and to
ensure that the rebels turn in the weapons they've looted from Qaddafi's
stockpiles. The international community will also look to the rebels to
ensure the destruction of the remaining tons of mustard gas stockpiled
in the country.

Once the rebels take full control of Libya, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., told National Journal their
"highest priority" must be securing "the arms depots so that the
weapons don't spread and fall into the wrong hands." McCain did not
offer any details on how the rebel leadership could accomplish that,
however. The rebels themselves will soon be embroiled in the challenge
of national reconciliation and transition to democracy.

Since the outbreak of fighting, U.S. officials have been concerned
about the proliferation of weapons -- especially Qaddafi's
shoulder-fired surface-to-air missiles -- and worried that small arms,
ammunition, and explosives could be smuggled out of the country and
fall into the hands of those planning terrorist attacks.

After months of NATO bombings, the challenge for the United States
and its allies is to figure out how to help the rebels remake their
country into a credible member of the international community. The
international community will pressure the rebels to show how they will
secure the remaining weapons depots under Qaddafi's control and prevent
infighting that could lead to an even longer civil war.

The bloody months of fighting -- and NATO attacks -- has left much of
the country's ammunition storage areas unsecured and open to looting,
the Obama administration said in a notification to Congress to May; it
announced at that time it was obligating $1.5 million to collect,
destroy, and reestablish control of Libyan surface-to-air missiles,
small arms, and light weapons. "It is critically important not only to
[protect] the Libyan population, but to counter the threat of
proliferation into neighboring regions that work begin immediately to
collect, control, and destroy conventional weapons and munitions, and
reestablish security at these storage sites," the notification said,
according to a report by the Congressional Research Service.
"Terrorist groups are exploiting this opportunity, and the situation
grows more dangerous with each passing day, a situation that directly
impacts U.S. national security."

The U.S. is working with its allies and partners to help prevent the
proliferation of these MANPADS, or man-portable air-defense systems,
according to a State Department spokesperson who declined to speak on
the record because of ongoing policy discussions.

The administration funneled the funds to two European mine-clearing
groups that were working in Libya before the uprising: the Mines
Advisory Group, based in Britain, and the Swiss Foundation for Mine
Action.

The shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles are "very concerning to us, because they're so easy to get legs and walk away," Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., chairman of the House Intelligence Committee,
said on Tuesday. "Al-Qaida has expressed an interest in trying to take
advantage of the chaos. We know that for a fact. We know that some of
those weapons systems have been attempted to be moved," Rogers said on
MSNBC's Morning Joe.

Gen. Carter Ham, commander of U.S. Africa Command, testified on
Capitol Hill that as many as 20,000 surface-to-air missiles were in the
country when the operation began. "Many of those, we know, are now not
accounted for," Ham, who was once in charge of the military operation
in Libya, testified in April.

The "only thing" that unites the rebels, who are from various ethnic
and tribal groups, is their fight against Qaddafi, Rogers said. Once the
embattled leader is captured or killed, this cohesion could dissipate.
"I'm very concerned about some of those weapons systems being sold on
the black market, [or] being taken for advantage for one group over
another group," he said.

Options exist for ensuring security that don't include "big boots on
the ground," Rogers said, adding that securing Qaddafi's remaining
anti-aircraft weapons systems must be a joint effort by the rebels,
NATO, and the United States. "We shouldn't be bashful in saying, 'Look,
we may have to put some of our American people through diplomatic means
and others to make sure that those weapons systems don't start walking
away.' "

Even McCain, one of the most
outspoken advocates of American military intervention in Libya, said he
would not consider supporting an international peacekeeping force or
foreign boots on the ground unless the rebels asked for it.

Years after Qaddafi signed a treaty banning chemical weapons, Libya
still has about 11.5 metric tons - or more than 25,000 pounds--of mustard
gas stockpiled in the country, according to Michael Luhan, a spokesman
for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. In 2004
Tripoli destroyed -- with bulldozers -- thousands of munitions that
could be used to deliver the mustard agent, Luhan said.

Libya destroyed just over half its stockpile of mustard gas within a
year, but the security situation at the start of the protests in
February made it impossible for the inspectors to finish the job, Luhan
said. The OPCW inspectors won't be able to continue their work -- or
even have direct contact with the rebels -- until the United Nations
officially recognizes the Libyan rebel council.

"We are having a number of informal discussions and consultations
with a variety of actors who are engaged in one way or another in the
situation in Libya, so that when the time comes for us to move, we will
be prepared for that," Luhan said in a telephone interview from the
Hague.

Even though the inspectors sealed the depot containing the vats of
mustard agents and sealed the destruction facility, Luhan said, OPCW has
no way of knowing if the security has been compromised until its
staff members can get back in the country.

"There should be no doubt that U.S. and NATO security officials have
been keeping a close eye on Libya's chemical-weapons stockpiles during
this crisis," a U.S. official said in an e-mail to National Journal.
"Especially during this tumultuous time, maintaining vigilance on this
issue is a priority. The stockpiles at this point appear to be well
guarded. It's worth keeping in mind that Qaddafi did in fact destroy
many of his most dangerous weapons, and that much of what remains is
outdated or difficult to make operational."

As the rebels storm Qaddafi's compound and take over the streets of
Tripoli, the strongman's four-decade rule never looked so precarious.
The rebels' recently accredited ambassador to Washington, Ali Suleiman
Aujali, said they are concerned about the remaining weapons - but more
concerned about the arms still under Qaddafi's control. "Qaddafi's
people are still hanging around; they still have these weapons; they're
killing people randomly -- this is a problem," Aujali told National Journal. "As long as Qaddafi is hiding, this is a great concern."

In Benghazi on Monday, Transitional National Council leader Mustafa
Abdel Jalil called on the rebels to refrain from looting and acts of
"revenge," as fighting intensifies in what he called the final stages
of ousting Qaddafi. The rebel fighters, Jalil said, "will put down
their arms as soon as this conflict ends, and they will go back to
being productive civilians."

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